bobbins



UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS S. ROBBINS, OF NEw YORK, N. Y., AND JOHN A. SOUTHMAYD, OF

ELIZABETH, N. J., ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE BED- FORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.

TEXTILE FABRIC FROM BAMBOO, CANE, 80c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,286, dated November 29, 1881, Application filed May 16, 1870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS S. ROBBINS, of the city, county, and State of New York, and JOHN A. SOUTHMAYD, of Elizabeth, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a new Textile Fabric from Bamboo, Cane, &c.; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

We have discovered that the fibers of the plant variously-termed bamboo, reed, or cane, when properly prepared, possess all the properties requisite for being spun, in combination with the fibers of wool, so as to produce yarn suitable to be wovenor knitted, so r5 that the fabric, whether woven or knitted, will have substantially the same qualities as ifspun and woven or knitted wholly of woolen fibers. The fibers obtained from the said plant, when properly prepared, have the same appearance, present the same soft and elastic feeling to the hand, and will take colors in the process of dyeingand printingjust as readily and of the same shades as the fibers of wool.

We have successfully prepared the fibers of bamboo, reed, or cane for ad mixture with Wool,

suitable for being spun into threads and woven into cloth or knitted, by the following process, viz: The knots of the plant are cut off and the lengths between the knots orjoints are 0 boiled from seven to nine hours in an aqueous solution of caustic alkali, termed caustic soda, of a strength from 6 to 10 Baum.

, We prefer to boil under a pressure of from forty to one hundred pounds to the square inch.

The length of time of the boiling will depend upon the size of the plant, as also the heat or pressure and the strength of the liquor. The object of boiling in caustic alkali is to dissolve the proxiinates of the plant, and hence the 4.0 larger the bamboo the longer it will take to effect the result, and as heat increases the dissolving action of the alkaline solution and the rapidity of its action are increased by increased strength.

In working the process the temperature and strength ofthe solution and the time of boiling must, to a certain extent, be controlled by the judgment of the operative, who can readily tell by inspection when the proximates have been dissolved and removed from the fiber; and as the plant is tapering from the butt to the tip,

it is found best in practice, after it has been cut into lengths, to divide it into batches, so

that for each boiling the size of the pieces shall be nearly of the same size; and although 5 we prefer boiling under high pressure, the required result can be obtained by boiling in open vessels for a greater length of time. After boiling the plant should be washed in hot water and then passed between rollers to press out the solution and dissolved proximates, and to disintegrate, so that the fibers may be more readily separated, which latter is to be effected by subjecting it to the action of a rotating picker, the teeth of which separate the fibers, as gradually presented and fed forward by suitable i'eed-rollers, in manner well known to persons familiar with the construction and operation of pickers. After the fibers have been separated by thepicker they are passed through strong cards, the teeth of which operate as hackles do on the fibers of hemp, and then passed through fine cards. The fibers, after having been treated as above stated, are then to be mixed with woolen fibers in the same manner as different qualities of woolen fibers are mixed. The mixed fibers are then subjected to the operation of the machine known as the devil,and then to the successive operationsot'carding, drawing, and spinning, to produce yarns suitable for weaving and knitting. The fibers, after being so prepared and combined with wool, will take and retain the colors in dyeing and printing as effectually as if composed of wool alone, and in that respect, as well as in the others before stated, they are essentially like woolen fibers and distinctly different from other vegetable fibers.

Although we have herein describeda process which we have found suitable torthe prepo aration of bamboo, reed, or cane and the combining of the fibers so prepared with wool suitable for the production of woven and knitted fabrics, we do not wish'to be understood as limiting our claim of invention to the said process, as other processes may be devised suitable for the purpose.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The new manufacture, whether woven or knitted, ofyarns spun from the combined fibers of bamboo, reed, or cane and wool, as described.

- LOUIS S. ROBBINS.

Witnesses: JOHN A. SOUTHMAYD.

P. MANNING SKINNER, J. A. MORRILL. 

